I LIKE dogs—I love cats,
Guinea pigs and white rats.
          Only dumb creatures:
          Eloquent teachers!
          Oh, such fidelity!
          How it comes back to me
          What once befell a flea,
          Pussy cat found on me.
          Treat quite unreckoned.
          Seen, caught and eaten
          All in one second;
          Battered and beaten.

Pussy cat purred with glee.
Oh, how Puss rubbed 'gainst me.
Oh, what a triumph, quite,
On the flea, out of sight!

Kippens was the kitten's name,
Very soft and very tame.
          Topaz eyes,
          Very wise.

          Oh, pity the Kitty.
She disappeared soon after,
Like little Johnnie Shafter.

Dear Kippens, I'll always
Remember no brawl pays.
Fighting all night, Kitty,
          Roaming the dark city
          Is not right you see.
          It don't pay for me.

Oh Guinea pigs, rabbits, pet goats, and white rats,
What makes many people love dogs and hate cats?

          A pig is a pig, a rat is rat;
          A cat, you know, cannot help being a cat.
Poor Pussy, you'd much rather be an Archbishop,
And live in a palace with servants to dish up
Canaries, green catnip, soft canopied bed,
And everything else at the toss of your head.

Dear Kippens, sweet Kippens, oh, more is the pity,
Instead of a Bishop, you're only a kitty.
          But still I've an inkling,
          Dear sweet little winkling,
          I'll meet you again;
          But when, dear, oh, when!

They say cats have nine lives or more.
I'll meet you on some other shore.
          Oh yes, yes, I confess.
          Draw the curtain, I feel certain,
          Kitty cats live on forever.
          Kippens, dear, what can dissever,
          The love I bear for you,
          Dear feline, friend so true.

Kind reader, don't think me a fool.
          Forgive this foolish sigh,
Because I have made it a rule,
          Sure as I hope to die,
          Regardless of sequels,
          To treat cats like equals.

And when I pass both sod and clod,
In dog and kitty's land of nod;
Knowing who loves her, purring with glee,
Kippens will come and welcome me.

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